Geography · Ch 9 — Population: Distribution, Density, Growth and Composition
Composition of Working Population
Composition of Working Population
The economic status of India’s population is understood by dividing people into three groups based on their work: main workers, marginal workers, and non-workers. This classification comes directly from the Census of India and is the foundation for analysing the country’s labour force.
According to the 2011 Census, only 39.8 per cent of India’s population are workers (main and marginal combined). That leaves a vast majority — about 60 per cent — as non-workers. This high proportion of non-workers means a large section of the population is dependent on the working population. It also points to the possible existence of widespread unemployment or underemployment.
Work participation rate is the proportion of the total population that is working. Across states and Union Territories, this rate varies widely — from about 29.1 per cent in Lakshadweep to about 51.9 per cent in Himachal Pradesh. States with higher work participation rates include Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya. Among Union Territories, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu have higher participation rates.
In a country like India, work participation rates tend to be higher in areas with lower levels of economic development. This is because such regions rely heavily on manual workers for subsistence or near-subsistence economic activities.
Standard Census Definitions
- Main Worker: A person who works for at least 183 days (or six months) in a year.
- Marginal Worker: A person who works for less than 183 days (or six months) in a year.
Occupational Composition
The occupational composition of India’s population refers to the engagement of individuals in farming, manufacturing, trade, services, or any kind of professional activity. The 2011 Census divides the working population into four major categories:
- Cultivators
- Agricultural Labourers
- Household Industrial Workers
- Other Workers (includes non-household industries, trade, commerce, construction, repair, and other services)
The data shows a clear dominance of primary sector workers. About 54.6 per cent of the total working population are cultivators and agricultural labourers. Only 3.8 per cent are engaged in household industries, while 41.6 per cent are other workers.
Table 1.4: Sectoral Composition of Workforce in India, 2011
| Category | Total Workers | % to Total | Male Workers | Female Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary (Cultivators + Agricultural Labourers) | 26,30,22,473 | 54.6 | 16,54,47,075 | 9,75,75,398 |
| Secondary (Household Industrial Workers) | 1,83,36,307 | 3.8 | 97,75,635 | 85,60,672 |
| Tertiary (Other Workers) | 20,03,84,531 | 41.6 | 15,66,43,220 | 4,37,41,311 |
Male workers outnumber female workers in all three sectors. However, the number of female workers is relatively high in the primary sector. In recent years, there has been some improvement in women’s work participation in secondary and tertiary sectors.
The proportion of workers in the agricultural sector in India has declined over the last few decades — from 58.2 per cent in 2001 to 54.6 per cent in 2011. Correspondingly, participation in secondary and tertiary sectors has increased. This indicates a shift of workers from farm-based occupations to non-farm ones, reflecting a sectoral shift in the economy.
Spatial Variation in Occupational Structure
The work participation rate in different sectors varies widely across the country.
- States like Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland have very large shares of cultivators.
- States like Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh have a higher proportion of agricultural labourers.
- Highly urbanised areas like Delhi, Chandigarh, and Puducherry have a very large proportion of workers engaged in other services (tertiary sector). This indicates not only limited farming land but also large-scale urbanisation and industrialisation requiring more workers in non-farm sectors.
Gender Sensitivity and the ‘Beti Bachao–Beti Padhao’ Campaign
The division of society into male, female, and transgender is often seen as natural and biological. In reality, these are social constructs reinforced by institutions. Biological differences become the basis of social differentiation, discrimination, and exclusion. The exclusion of over half the population is a serious handicap for any developing and civilised society. …
The figure is a 100% stacked vertical bar chart that shows the occupational structure of every state and Union Territory in India as of the 2011 Census. The y-axis runs from 0% to 100% in increments of 20%, labelled "workers in Percent". The x-axis lists approximately 35 states and Union Territories in a fixed order: Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, NCT of Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Lakshadweep, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Each bar is divided into four coloured segments, one above the other, representing the four occupational categories defined by the 2011 Census: Cultivators, Agricultural Labourers, Household Industries Workers, and Other Workers. The legend identifies these four categories. Because the bars are stacked to 100%, the height of each segment shows the percentage of that state’s working population engaged in that category, not the absolute number of workers.
What the chart teaches is the enormous spatial variation in India’s occupational structure. In states like Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland, the segment for Cultivators is very large — meaning most workers are farmers who own or lease land. In contrast, states like Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh show a much larger share of Agricultural Labourers (landless workers who work on others’ farms). This difference reflects varying land ownership patterns and levels of agricultural development.
At the other extreme, highly urbanised Union Territories such as Delhi, Chandigarh, and Puducherry have bars dominated by the "Other Workers" segment — which includes non-household industries, trade, commerce, construction, and services. This indicates that in these areas, very few people work in farming or household industries; the economy is driven by urban, industrial, and service-sector jobs. …
| Categories | Persons | % to total Workers | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Primary | 26,30,22,473 | 54.6 | 16,54,47,075 | 9,75,75,398 |
| Secondary | 1,83,36,307 | 3.8 | 97,75,635 | 85,60,672 |
The division of the society into male, female and transgender is believed to be natural and biological. But, in reality, there are social constructs and roles assigned to individuals which are reinforced by social institutions. Consequently, these biological differences become the basis of social differentiations, discriminations and exclusions. The exclusion of over half of the population becomes a serious handicap to any developing and civilised society. It is a global challenge, which has been acknowledged by the UNDP when it mentioned that, “If development is not engendered it is endangered” (HDR UNDP 1995). Discrimination, in general, and gender discrimination, in particular, is a crime against humanity. All efforts need to be made to address the denial of opportunities of education, employment, political representation, low wages for similar types of work, disregard to their entitlement to live a dignified life, etc. A society, which fails to acknowledge and take effective measures to remove such discriminations, cannot be tre …